Gene therapy

Gene therapy is making great strides: Gene therapy involves the insertion of copies ofhealthy genes into a patient’s genetic code to counteract the effect of mutated or missing genes that can cause genetic disorders and illnesses. The genes can be injected directly into cells. The technique has courted controversy, and only received regulatory approval in the US in 2017 after years of research and development. It has mostly been used to help patients fighting cancer, but a version of the therapy recently developed by Bluebird Bio has shown some promise in curing a teenage boy in France of sickle cell disease. Meanwhile, another form of the treatment — known as Kymriah and Yescarta — has sent patients in the US with bone marrow cancer and lymphoma into long term remission.